She's casting shadows and lights

Or: Elena Richarz by Christopher Wesser

Elena is a model and actress and when she contacted me on Facebook for some photos, i did, what i always do: I stalked as many of her existing photos as i could. Usually i also try to look at some personal snapshots, which weren't created in a professional shooting to get a slight clue of my model's personality. In this case i was a bit confused. On the one photo she looked completely different than on the other. If you'd shown me two different photos of her, i would have said that these are two different models so i had no idea about how the photos with her would turn out but i simply gave it a try.

As you know, i'm working best when it comes to very natural photos so i asked her, if she has any problems with that and she answered that this is exactly what she would like to have. So i invited her to my home because i thought i could give the light-situations in my kitchen and bathroom a try. And it worked out just the way i wanted it to work out! Not only because of the light but mostly because of Elena. It was that kind of shooting where i didn't need to give many commands. Usually i said "Ok, now would you please try.... oh stay that way! That's exactly what i wanted to explain!"

When i processed the photos, i realized, that we did a very contrasty shooting. We created very dark, moody photos but also very bright and inviting ones. And both fit her perfectly (That's why i choose the title). I wouldn't say, that she's wrong in any of these settings, she simply let herself fall into the moment, no matter if bright or dark and i'd really say, that's one the most important qualities for a model. So please enjoy this huge ammount of photos with deep shadows and brilliant highlights.

Elena's Facebook page